Auto circuit for drive-in theaters



NOV. 25, 1952 SATTERHELD 2,619,544

AUTO CIRCUIT FOR DRIVE-IN THEATERS Filed Oct. 5, 1949 EMMA/e0 A. 5A rrsEF/El-P, INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 25, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,619,544;AUTG. CIRCUIT FOR DRIVE "-iINTHEATER'S Richard A. Satterfield,Winston-Salem, N. C;

Application October 5, 1949,, ,ScriaLNo. 1193308 1.Claim. This inventionrelates to equipping an automobile which has a radio and loudspeakertherein for use when it drives into anoutdoor theatre so that theloudspeaker which forms apart of the car radio can be employed insteadof having to insert a loudspeaker from a suitable cabinet adjacent theparking place of the automobile into the automobile.

As is well known, in drive-in or outdoor theatres a plurality of postsor columns are arranged usually one post between two parking spaces andthis post usually has a cabinet thereon mounting two loudspeakers whichare connected to the sound apparatus of the picture being shown. When acustomer drives into a parking place, an attendant hands the loudspeakerfrom a cabinet to an occupant of the car and the loudspeaker is hungsomewhere within the car and if it is cold weather or inclement weatherthe car windows can be raised most of the way to elevated position, butstill it is necessary to leave a crack in the Window through which thecord of the loudspeaker is passed.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a wiring circuitfor an automobile which is equipped with a radio and a loudspeaker andsaid circuit having a socket disposed on one or both sides of theautomobile and instead of having loudspeakers attached to cords on apost between a pair of adjacent cars, it is only necessary to have acord having a plug which can be plugged into a plug in the side of theautomobile and the operator of the automobile merely flips a switch todisconnect the car loudspeaker from its associated radio and connects itto the circuit leading to one of the plugs in the side Wall of theautomobile so the conventional loudspeaker of the car radio can beemployed for receiving the program from the icture being displayed.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objectswill appear as the description proceeds, when taken in connection withthe accompanying drawings in which Figure l is an elevation showing aportion of an automobile and a post or column with a pair of cablesadapted to be attached to a socket in the side of the automobile;

Figure 2 is a schematic wiring diagram of an automobile having a radioand loudspeaker associated therewith and the manner in which the soundsystem of the outdoor theater can be connected to the loudspeaker in theautomobile.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, the numeral indicates aportion of an automobile and in which a front door H is shown. In anoutdoor theatre there is usually disposeda column betweenieach' pair ofparking places, this. column being indicatedat I2. and preferablybeinghollow and having a cable 13' extending upwardly throughthesame,the-cable l3 beingconnected to the sound projection apparatus of themoving picture projector. Usually there are two cables for each columnand these are indicated at l5 and I6 and suitable hooks l1 and I8 areprovided on which these cables may be suspended when not in use. Each ofthese cables has a male socket 20 which is usually provided with two ormore prongs which are adapted to be inserted into a. female plug 2|disposed in one or both sides of an automobile preferably in the frontfenders thereof. From each of these sockets 2|, wires 25, 26 and 21 areled to suitable switch posts 28, 29 and 30. The automobile which isequipped with a radio has a radio proper indicated at 32 having wires33, 34 and 35 leading therefrom to suitable contacts 36, 31 and 38. Theautomobile is also usually equipped with a loudspeaker 40 having wires4|, 42 and 43 leading therefrom to a knife switch indicated broadly at44. From the other side of the car where the other female plug 2| islocated suitable wires 50, 5| and 52 are led transversely of theautomobile and are connected to the wires 25, 26, 21 respectively.

Each of the cables l5 and It usually have therein wires 55, 56, and 51which are connected to the three prongs 58, 59 and 60 of each of themale plugs 2|.

It is thus seen that While the automobile is in normal use, the masterswitch 44 will be moved to the left into engagement with the contacts36, 31 and 38 which will connect the loudspeaker of the car radio withthe car radio itself. Now, when the car drives into an outdoor theatreequipped with this invention, the attendant will plug in one of theplugs 20 into the female plugs 2| and the master switch 44 Will beturned from left to right in Figure 2 to engage the contacts 28, 29 and33 which will disconnect the loudspeaker in the automobile from itsassociated radio and will connect it directly to the sound system of themovie projector.

This invention will eliminate the costly equipment which is exposed tooutdoor weather much of the time as now employed by outdoor theatres andwill also enable automobiles to be completely closed up during extremelycold weather or during a rain storm and thus will be quite animprovement over the method of having to pass a loudspeaker from a postinto an automobile which has driven up for witnessing of a picture in anoutdoor theatre.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferredembodiment of the invention, and although specific terms are employed,they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only, and not forpurposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in theclaim.

I claim:

An electrical circuit for automotive vehicles having a body providedwith side walls and having a radio receiver and a loud speaker andhaving a first plurality of electrical conductors leading from thereceiver, a second plurality of electrical conductors leading from theloud speaker, a female socket in at least one side wall of the body, athird plurality of electrical conductors connected to the female socket,a double throw knife switch provided with pivot posts connected to thesecond plurality of conductors, the first and third plurality ofconductors havin each a set of knife receiving contacts disposed onopposed sides of the pivot posts whereby upon the swinging of the knifeswitch from one set of receiving contacts to the other,

'4 the speaker can be selectively connected to the receiver or thefemale socket.

RICHARD A. SATTERFIELD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 762,684 Case June 14, 19041,979,313 Cotter Nov. 6, 1934 1,981,689 Deakin Nov. 20, 1934 2,109,602Weiss Mar. 1, 1938 2,138,598 Goldsmith Nov. 29, 1938 2,144,566 DreisbackJan. 17, 1939 2,280,465 Barrett Apr. 21, 1942 2,429,607 Capen Oct. 28,1947 2,463,339 Wetzel et a1 Mar. 1, 1949 2,469,986 Phyfe May 10, 19492,501,048 Haller Mar. 21, 1950 OTHER REFERENCES Cannon ElectricDevelopment-March, 1944 Edition, page 3.

